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Morgan Kelhin
The spurred horse launched forward, the rider struggling to keep position on the horse-- a lance waving feebly out in front as the horse thundered forward. Get it in the cradle, get it in the damned cradle! There was a quiet click as the lance set into place against the armor, bracing against the moment of violence to come. Watch the line, follow the target... lead... lead... push! The inexperienced rider rocked back on the horse as the blunt lance clipped the side of the target. '' Not enough--!'' The riders throughts exploded into bright colors as a heavy leather bag of sand slamed into the back of his head, knocking him from the horse and sending him to the ground in a flurry of flailing limbs and clanking armor. As he stirred, a laughing form loomed over him. "Not bad, Stefan. But you move too much in the saddle. It throws off your aim." "The hell... you can move... in this kit..." Stefan wheezed, trying to remember which way was up. A hand appeared in front of him, and he gripped it, taking the hand to help him up to his feet. "Damn you, Morgan, but you make that look easy." Stefan grumbled dryly, trying to find the straps to rid hiself of the cumbersome armor. "I told you it wasn't as easy as you thought it was. Not like that silly dancing you do with a sword," 'Morgan teased his brother. '"I feel like I'm fighting some dancer or minstrel instead of my brother." "Oy, say what you will about me, but let Maria hear you talk like that about dance, and she'll cut your feet off and make you try to dance a jig. ...Ow. I think my shoulder finally realized it's supposed to be in pain." Stefan grimaced and grumbled, but he seemed largely unhurt by the experience.' "You won the wager, though. I may be able to best you with a sword-- barely-- but there's no way I can match you on horseback. Probably ever. It must be something you're born with... erm, pick up."' Stefan looked away briefly, embarressment making his ears red. "Uh, damn. I didn't mean that," he tried to apologize. Morgan waved him off. "Eh, so I'm a bastard. Noble-stock. I'm still a Kelhin like the rest of us-- and no one seems to mind. I mean, I'm partly the reason for all this then, am I not? Mother and father were payed well to forget about that. And they did. I'm at peace with that-- I have no grand or fancy aspirations. No less than complete and total subjugation of the world." He laughed, and Stefan joined in. Though he was the youngest-- and only a half-brother-- Morgan got along well with all of his other half-brothers and sisters. His affable manner helped to hide the subtle differences that were not common among the other Kelhin children.' "Come on though, we need to get you fixed up. If mother sees you like this, she'll have a fit. You're supposed to be the dashing swordsman of the family-- and I think that blow to the head just knocked all the 'dashing' you had down into your ass. Ah, and let's not forget Hariwini."' He grinned, then trotted off to track down the now rider-less horse casually munching grass nearby. "Heh, you know the stories as well as I do, Morgan!" Stefan called after him. "The Dashing Swordsman always loses out to the Shining Knight!" Morgan's Beginning Brevic-born and bred, Morgan Kelhin hails from a family renowned for their horses. The Kelhin family ranch is responsible for breeding and trading many of the finest horses in Brevoy-- so they claim. The truth of the matter is that they are not far off the mark in their boasts. The ranch houses the entire Kelhin clan-- nearly four generations of family members-- most of whose livelihood is at least indirectly tied to the horses that made them such a prolific family. But, like many households of note, they too have their own unpleasant secrets. Their greatest is tied directly to Morgan. There is a reason he does not look entirely like his brothers. That is because he is not his father's son-- he is a bastard child who bears blood from the Lebeda House. One year, while his parents were seeking buyers and other breeders in Silverhall, his mother was accosted by a very stupid and very drunk young noble from House Lebeda. Morgan was the unexpected result. Lebeda was quick to try to fix the matter, offering the Kelhin's a modest pay-off of gold, animal contracts, and access to a few note-worthy bloodlines. Of course, by accepting, the Kelhins were expected to not make any attempts to enforce his claims to the name. The Kelhin's accepted the apology and agreed to the few demands; they stood to gain much by not trying to enforce a claim that would most likely be dismissed. In fact, their success as a stable can be directly tied to this event-- early on, their contracts and trades were with the help of Lebeda as a cover-up for the dark incident. After a few short years, however, Lebeda began to see the Kelhins as favorable trade partners, despite the dark spot in their past. In the time since, both the Kelhins and House Lebeda have benefitted greatly from a horrid and unsavory occurrence. Morgan grew up fully aware of his parentage-- both his parents thought it better to address the matter when he was old enough to understand the basic idea. To their relief, Morgan seemed to accept the matter easily through his life-- he thinks no less of his parents for accepting the deal, he has no enmity for House Lebeda (though perhaps for his father, though he doubts he will ever meet him or learn his name), and he seems to have no desire to try and pursue any of the claims that his parents willingly forfeit. For all intents and purposes, he is a Kelhin, just like the rest of his family. As such, he was raised for a few particular skills; unlike his eldest brother, who is being groomed to take over the stable from a more merchant-like perspective, Morgan has learned all of the basics in raising, trianing, and caring for horses. As a strong lad, Morgan took well to the skills of a farrier-- as well as the demands of a forge, where he first learned how to cast shoes for horses. With some extra tutelage from a skilled smithy from Silverhall, Morgan's repertoire soon spread to include armor-smithing-- most notably the heavy barding used by the larger warhorses. He has since shown excellent promise in both fields, and his skills have since done a good deal to save his family money in the long run, as well as earning them a tidy profit when selling warhorses that already have fitted barding with them. Of course, what kind of boy grows up on a stable without learning how to ride a horse? Like his three brothers, Morgan is a fine rider, and his fascination with heavy cavalry has led to many of his childhood injuries resulting from attempts at training dummies with practice lances-- and the inevitable conclusion that a light boy riding a large horse with no hands is not one of the brightest ideas. But, through perseverance, training, and a great deal of sibling rivalry, Morgan has proven himself to be at least a capable soldier. Of his three brothers, and two sisters, only the 2nd son, Stefan, can beat him with a sword on foot and the 1st daughter, Maria, with a bow. No one in his family can best him with a lance-- though most are wise enough to decline the challenge when he offers, no matter how polite and unassuming his smile may be. Morgan is a loud, gregarious, and affable person. As the youngest child, he is used to needing to work to achieve his wants and desires. He has been given very little for nothing, and while he does need to 'earn his keep', he is far from over-worked, and he has had much time to himself over the years. Well, as much alone time as one can get with five siblings-- which is to say, very little. Morgan is very accepting of the world around him, and he does not begrudge the world for presenting him with challenges or difficulties. The world and the gods will do whatever it is they plan to do, regardless of how he feels about the matter. Better to face the next day with a smile-- or a lance-- than to succumb to ineffectual rage or depression. "You cannot change what you do not understand." he has oft remarked, a poignant lesson he has learned from trying to break and train horses. If you can't raise a horse without understanding them, then how can you hope to make yourself a place in the world if you know nothing about it? It was this, perhaps foolish, belief that led him to accept the charter to travel the lands and forge a small kingdom under royal decree. Through one of Lebeda's usual machinations, it fell to the Kelhin's to offer someone to assist with the venture. Unsurprisingly, Morgan was not only the most determined to go, but the one with the skills most essential to coming back alive. Lebeda seemed eager for him in particular to accept the duty, perhaps sure that they stood to profit by seeing their own merchants get established in new, fetile lands. Being one of the most apt Kelhins for the job, Morgan was gifted with numerous presents from his large family-- most notably was a large charger, Hariwini, whom Morgan had spent much time training over the past few years. Other Miscellany Character Sheet (533-current) age 24. Travelling Companions: *Aleksander Medvyed-Surrey (Human, Wu Jen) *Ashiara Suraia Jahaldine (Half-Elf, Expert) *Bromin Groede (Elf, Expert) *Elban Medyved (Human, Monk) *Hirol "Zane" Zidane (Tiefling, Scout) *Jang Lodovka (Human, Sorcerer) *Sharell Libain (Half-Elf, Druid) *Wilward Wyrenjack (Human, Rogue) *Ad infinitum... Immediate Family *Jurian Kelhin, Step-Father *Katrin Kinsky, Mother *________ Lebeda, Father *Oliver, 1st Brother *Stefan, 2nd Brother *Egon, 3rd Brother *Maria, 1st Sister *Aelizabeth, 2nd Sister Abbreviated Character Sheet Race: Human Class: Fighter (Roughrider) 8 HP: 72 AC: 33 Initiative: +2 * * * * * * Special Items: Stone Rose (Artifact) Lebedan Spurs of Alliance Ring of Arming Presti-Clothing Falcon + Falconry equipment Category:Player Characters Category:Noble Houses Category:Lebeda Category:Xanadu